Temple University Athletics
Temple Travels To George Washington For Tough A-10 Showdown
2.16.07 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 16, 2007
WASHINGTON, DC - Temple will look to get back to its winning ways Saturday at the toughest place in the Atlantic 10 Conference to play, the Smith Center, when the Owls take on a reeling George Washington squad (2:00 p.m./1210 AM WPHT). The Owls had won four straight before stumbling in their last outing, a 77-72 loss at La Salle (2/14). The Colonials, meanwhile, have lost four straight, most recently a 62-56 defeat at Saint Joseph's (2/14).
The last time the teams tangled was in the 2006 A-10 Tournament when the Cherry and White bounced the sixth-ranked Colonials, 68-53, in the quarterfinals. It was former head coach John Chaney's final win of his Hall of Fame career. GW had coasted through the regular season unbeaten and will be looking to extract revenge in this meeting. The Colonials had their 24-game win streak at the Smith Center snapped in their last game in the building, an 87-58 loss to Xavier (2/10). The Owls, however, are 20-4 against GW in Washington, and have won four of their last five at the Smith Center.
Sophomore Dionte Christmas leads the Atlantic 10 Conference and ranks eighth nationally with a 21.7 scoring average. Christmas, along with junior Mark Tyndale (17.6 ppg.) and senior Dustin Salisbery (16.9 ppg.), has combined to average 56.2 points per game to rank second in the nation for a scoring trio. Senior Dion Dacons provides strength inside, averaging 7.3 points and a team-high 7.1 rebounds, while sophomore Semaje Inge (4.8 ppg.., 62 assists) and junior Chris Clark (3.0 ppg., 67 assists) share the point guard duties.
Philadelphia native Maureece Rice leads the GW attack, and ranks 10th in the A-10 with a 16.4 scoring average. Senior guard Carl Elliott (12.8 ppg.) runs the offense effectively, dishing a A-10 best 4.87 assists per game. Sophomore Rob Diggs (10.4 ppg., 5.3 rpg.), senior Regis Koundjia (7.8 ppg./5.0 rpg.) and senior Dokun Akingbade (7.5 ppg., 5.5 rpg.) give the Colonials a formidable front line.
Temple leads the all-time series, 46-15, but the George Washington has won four of the last five meetings.
